I agree with this. Apply RD to WashU along with the other schools on your list. You already have a great acceptance at TAMU so don’t limit yourself. You have a great profile.
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I think it’s worth giving a bit more thought to your desired major, too. MechE is quite different from IE/Systems. If you’re actually wanting to take this in a business direction, as your interest in an elite MBA implies, maybe you would like the IE/Systems route better. WashU not only has a systems major, but also a co-major in financial engineering. Does that appeal? Because most Ivies don’t have the equivalent. TAMU has a top IE program; the only private universities that are ranked higher are Stanford and Northwestern, neither of which are Ivies (but are you applying to either or both?). Cornell has a strong Operations Research major. I’d say you should prioritize being able to study what you’re most interested in, unless you truly have no preference between these majors and MechE.
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You said you go to a competitive private school. Have you talked to your college counselor about this? Typically competitive private schools have very knowledgeable counselors who can give you more insight than randos on an Internet forum who don’t know you, your app, your school, or the history/relationships of your school with the schools you are interested in. Moreover, they will know which “Ivys” and similar you are specifically talking about, which you have not shared with us (which is fine, but lessens the utility of our opinions even further).
Though the circumstances are different, the core of at least part of the issue was very similar for my kid earlier in her process. She had 3 schools she liked a lot and was trying to decide if she should ED to one. Her guidance counselor was able to give her realistic and specific information about her chances at RD vs ED at the schools so she could weigh that. In short, if she chose to ED to the middle selectivity of her schools, it would have been very likely she got in and would have been committed there. She also got a good sense of her chances at the reach in RD so she could decide what she wanted to do based on the info she had. She ultimately decided she did not want to give up the safety which she liked as much as the others so RD everywhere. But she made that choice with the best info possible. So, if you haven’t had this convo with your counselor, I would if you can.
Ok, assuming you had the convo and are still looking for our opinions as internet randos, I’ll weigh in. Even as someone who went to elite schools, I don’t see what someone in your position gains by going to generic “Ivys” or similar other than whatever emotional or self-confidence boost you feel from saying you went to an Ivy for whatever reason that has emotional/psychological meaning to you. I don’t think an Ivy (including Harvard, Yale or Princeton since people often think they are exceptions) is likely to improve your career outcomes at all. Folks have already explained the engineering piece so I won’t reiterate what has already been explained. But you are 4 years of military experience on top of that before you are ever on the job market. People are going to care way more about that and what you do/learn there. Then you add that you want to get an MBA after that. Folks may care where your MBA is from, but your undergrad will matter little. And as has already been said, going to an Ivy will not make getting into a top end MBA program easier. You clearly test well. Do well in school get good experience in military and beyond before applying, and that is what will matter for admissions. Not if you went to A&M, or Washington U, or generic Ivy.
I keep saying “generic” Ivy, because you didn’t tell us which one and seem to want a shot at any that you applied to. But the Ivy schools are not fungible. They are incredibly different places, with distinct cultures, learning philosophies and settings. Some of them are likely to be a markedly worse experience for you than Wash U or A&M depending on what you actually like. So, I see zero value in going to a generic Ivy over your excellent alternative choices, especially when your alternatives are free! (Even if they weren’t, my answer would be the same). That is a different question than a particular Ivy (or two) that are good fits for you. But, Harvard and Princeton are not necessarily good fits for the same person. Dartmouth and Penn are wildly different choices and 4 year experiences. Columbia and Brown are such extremely different curricular cultures, even for engineering students. Yale is its own thing, in New Haven. Stanford, if that is in the mix is a whole other west coast animal. That you are striving for an “Ivy” admit, tells me nothing about your other alternative other than that they are very prestigious in your mind.
If I were in your shoes, I would weigh each individual school vs the Washington U alternative and ask myself why is that particular school one I value more? Are there reasons beyond prestige? Would you actually prefer to spend four years there over Wash U? And if so, why? I don’t think any of the Ivys would be likely to make your particular career outcomes better, so the question I’d ask is why do I want to go there other than the name?
It’s in the subject title. I almost missed it too!
@chmcnm @DadTwoGirls @Darcy123
Here’s the full list of schools I’m applying to!
- MIT (On campus ROTC) (MechE or Economics, Statistics and Data Science)
- Yale (On campus ROTC) (MechE or Stats)
- Columbia (Off campus ROTC) (Industrial engineering)
- Harvard (Off campus ROTC) (MechE or Stats)
- Princeton (Off campus ROTC) (Operations Research and Financial Engineering)
- Stanford (Off campus ROTC) (Management Science and Engineering)
- WashU (Off campus ROTC) (Systems engineering)
- UMichigan (On campus ROTC) (Industrial engineering)
- Rice (Off campus ROTC) (Operations research - adjacent to IE)
- Berkeley (On campus ROTC) (Industrial engineering)
I’ve also already been admitted to TAMU and UT Austin. TAMU has a top AFROTC detachment as it is a senior military college. This also means a more service-academy-like experience, where I wear a uniform every day and shave my head. I’d prefer a more typical college experience if possible. UT unfortunately doesn’t have a major that I am interested in studying.
@thumper1 Yes, that pathway is accurate!
Thank you to everyone for the advice so far!!
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If industrial engineering or something similar is your primary academic interest, then you may want to rerank your school preferences based on the availability of that or something similar as a major.
Note that Stanford has a management science and engineering major, and Princeton has an operations research and financial engineering major that may be somewhat similar to industrial engineering. It is possible that some other schools may have what you want under statistics or applied math.
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I’ve looked into those two majors and they look interesting. They are the ones that I am applying for. I’ll edit the list to reflect this.
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Is your list in post #25 in order of preference?
How far, for example, do you need to travel from Wash U?
I would think having to travel repeatedly would be a pain.
You will be doing this four years. I’d personally add impact to that over other things.
Plus A&M is enormous. WashU is compact.
So there are lots of differences. Which suits you more ?
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Washington University | U.S. Air Force ROTC says that WUStL students go to St. Louis University for AFROTC.
Looks like the distance is about 5 miles.
Research the off-campus ROTC. I’m assuming they’re at a different college or post. How will you get there? How easy is it to get there? You’ll most likely be spending more time at your detachment than a normal cadet not on scholarship.
It sounds like you’re undecided on engineering discipline. At most schools you don’t declare until 2nd year. It gives you a year to research.
IE is a very marketable degree. My oldest graduated from Georgia Tech’s ISye program. You can go into finance, analytics or operations. It’s a very flexible degree.
Michigan seems like an excellent option. Great school plus on-campus ROTC. Good luck.
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I mean, I’d find a like school that hosts - for example, U of Miami, Duke, USC, Tulane, Syracuse, Pitt, .
Obviously if OP is ok with the commutes - but I could see that growing tired.
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Note that Stanford and Princeton students do AFROTC at host schools that are 20+ miles away (SJSU and Rutgers respectively).
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Yes, I was just going to say that as someone who has lived near SJSU for years, having to travel between Stanford and SJSU for ROTC sounds awful. Bay Area traffic is no joke and that’s a serious commuter corridor.
The route between WashU and SLU doesn’t look too bad but it would be good to hear a local’s persective on that.
It’s hard to imagine that commuting between Princeton and Rutgers would feel very humane.
Also, for your interests, I’m not sure why the privates are looming so much larger in your decision process, when UMich and Berkeley are tippy-top schools for what you want, and have ROTC on campus (and also avoid the academy-ish vibe of the Corps at TAMU).
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Georgia Tech has on campus too. Given the interests….
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I can’t imagine it could have been overlooked. Either not of interest for some reason, or already resolved in the EA cycle.
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You mentioned that UT Austin doesn’t have anything of interest. Maybe reconsider?
Maybe a last minute app to Georgia Tech or Virginia Tech? Both have strong IE programs and I’m guessing ROTC on campus.
UT offers an IE certificate through the ME program. Computational engineering has components of IE. An argument could be made that it should be under Industrial Engineering. Even a degree in math or statistics would work.
Another vote to not ED2.
Surprised that Cornell isn’t on the list. They are very strong in your intended major and have had ROTC on campus for 150 years.
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Depending on traffic, Princeton to Rutgers is 30 minutes with no traffic. One daughter works 23 miles away, commute is always more than an hour.
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At least this will hopefully by eye opening for OP. They may be ok with cross city or mid city like WUSTL transport.
I, for one, hate shuttle vans. Hate waiting for people. Hate them waiting for me etc.
OP needs to think about that as many have brought it up. He may be ok with it
It never sounds as bad as it likely is.
When @momofboiler1 mentioned Cornell, I looked it up and they have SUNY Cortland and Elmira joining. That’s just crazy to me, especially Elmira.
I’d put convenience over school name but that’s obviously a choice OP will need to make.
Fortunately many great school names house the program but some may be a bit different than OP has in mind.
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